The U.S. Soccer Development Academy enters its final weekend of February with 20 games on the
docket, all of them scheduled for Saturday.
One key fixture includes the Dallas Texans U-15/16 team facing Solar Chelsea SC, as the two
sides are in first and second place, respectively, in the Texas Division.
Forward Juan Agudelo is one of five U.S. Soccer Development Academy on U-23 head coach Caleb
Porter's roster as the team prepares for a Feb. 29 match against Mexico in Frisco, Texas.
The U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team opens a training camp in Frisco, Texas, on Feb.
PSC Soccer Academy - News
Pro Soccer Consulting (PSC) is proud to announce that they will be hosting a professional soccer
combine for the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Pro League in March 2012 at the Maryland
Soccerplex in Boyds, MD.
PSC has already hosted three combines for top college and professional players during the last
quarter for clubs within the USL Pro, Norwegian Premier League and Norwegian Second Division.
I figured out why the club haven't been taking these CPO protests seriously. They're too busy
bidding for young talent in 45 minute stretches. Yes, yes we are. More, after the jump.
Worth his weight in gold?
Well, this came out of left field. According to the Daily Mail, Chelsea have succeeded in
securing the signature of MK Dons starlet Oluwaseyi Ojo.
Chelsea appear on the verge of snapping up Real Madrid's 15-year-old prospect José Ángel Pozo.
Color me surprised. More after the jump:
London calling
So it would seem that our quest to sign every young prospect in the world continues. After a
summer of snapping up bright talent, AVB and company appear to have the engine churning once more-
with their eyes directed in the way of Madrid and one of their starlets.
For many, Sam Hutchinson represents a specter of a foregone era at The Bridge- a time when Jose
Mourinho ran the roost and everyone wondered if we'd ever produce an academy star, to rival the
likes of John Terry, after years of significant investment. Currently, we're replete with inventory
when it comes to young prospects, but once upon a time, this wasn't the case.
After the jump, you'll find some movie pictures from a couple of youth matches over the past
week or so. Thanks, as always, to EskWeston for the contributions. This guy does fantastic work so
be sure to subscribe to his YouTube page and follow him on Twitter.
Old youth team photo
Black 5-3 Blue
14 September
This was a game featuring mixed teams of Under-18s and reserve players.
Reports this morning confirm that Chelsea have secured the signature of the Somali-born Scottish
starlet. More after the jump:
Catch Me If You Can
News this morning stateside confirms that Chelsea have secured the services of long-running
youth target Islam Feruz.
It seems that after years of purchasing aging talent we may at last be buying from the Fountain
of Youth. Hit the jump for more.
Baby Diddy Sauce.
Let's just address the elephant in the room right now before I go any further. Yes, we spent 50
million pounds on Fernando Torres.
Jack Cork, a part of the Chelsea academy since he was nine, follows in the footsteps of several
of our older youth squad members in departing the Blues. He has signed a four-year deal with
newly-promoted Championship side Southampton after spending last season on loan at Burnley. He also
delivered a little parting comment about Chelsea's youth system on his Twitter account (which was
promptly deleted).
More video this weekend. Not because we're lazy yeah, I know I am but because we've all been
busy as hell.
Chelsea's young defensive monster, Nathaniel Chalobah, opens the scoring for the England
Under-17 national team against Uruguay at the FIFA U17 World Cup in Mexico. Impressive, most
impressive.
Check out this goal by Dennis Flores of Arsenal FC. This match against the Dallas Texans ended in a
1-1 draw.
For all of today's results, click here.
For more action shots from today's Showcase and Playoffs, visit the Development Academy's Facebook
page. Be sure to "Like" the page to stay up-to-date on all Development Academy news and games.
Red Bulls Match Reaction:
- Late Ballouchy header stuns Dynamo in tie [MLS Soccer]
- RBNY Recap: Ballouchy bails out NY in 2-2 draw vs. Dynamo [ESPN New York]
- Dynamo, star-studded Red Bulls play to 2-2 draw [Houston Chronicle]
- Keeper Notes Ep 07 - Dynamo vs New York Red Bulls
The build-up to next weekend's first meeting between the Dynamo and FC Dallas continues:
- Dynamo, Dallas have always been enemies [Houston Dynamo]
- Someone, gee who could it be, flew a banner over Robertson on Saturday proclaiming
"#WeAllHateHouston" [Keeper Notes]
Academy News:
- Academy Roundup - May 22 [Houston Dynamo]
In the Community:
- Brian Ching completes campaign to build home for a Houston family [Houston11Soccer]
Officially out the door this summer. More after the jump.
Free at last.
I'm not going to sugar coat this. Losing Borini is a blow. You may not think it at first glance-
he hardly had any first-team appearances during his Chelsea career- but he was a lightning-rod of
productivity for the reserves.
Transfer Rumors:
Are the Dynamo still pursuing Hibernian striker Derek Riordan? [Scotsman.com]
Dynamo and the Chicago Fire said to have made offers to Colombian midfielder Giovanni Hernandez
[SoccerItalia]
General News:
Dynamo Notebook: Defense flexes its muscle at Rio Tinto [MLSSoccer]
SBNation MLS Power Rankings: Week 9 [SBN Soccer]
Steve Davis Projects the USMNT Gold Cup Roster.
The big weekend is here as the Portland Timbers are traveling up I-5 to take on our own Seattle
Sounders in a much anticipated rivalry match. The supporters groups are ready to cheer and shout
for a full 90. The Timbers Army has 10 buses of supporters coming up for the match (and have
helpfully put together a travel guide to Seattle).
Lots of Development Academy news this week following a busy weekend with some tight divisional
races ...
- ESPN Insider provides an update on former IMG Academy and U.S. U-20 defender Gale Agbossoumonde
– ESPN Insider
- D.C. United Academy gained valuable experience during its trip to Amsterdam – MLSsoccer.
As we look forward to Saturday's game against the Vancouver Whitecaps, let's mix in some news
and notes from this past weekend. The Chicago Fire academy teams faced regional rivals Chicago
Magic on Saturday, April 30th. Chicagoland Soccer has full recaps but the U-15/16 team tied 0-0
while the U-17/18 team gave up two goals in the second half to lose 2-0.
The Chicago Fire academy returned to game action on April 2 after being on a break since
December. The biggest news from the academy is a couple of players got into the Chicago Fire
Reserves 3-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo Reserves yesterday. Peter Beasley (U-17/18), Manuel
Rios (U-15/16), Brady Wahl (U-17/18) received playing time while Jacob Brindle (U-17/18) and Andrew
Connor (U-15/16) made the bench.
Welcome to today's Musket Rounds!
I don't know about you guys, but I've honestly already put Sunday's match behind me. I can't
remember the last time I was this indifferent about an incorrect refereeing decision, but frankly,
we didn't do enough to win that game and Houston probably did. Justice was served in the end.
The Seattle Sounders' U-18 and U-16 Academy players have occasionally been showing up here and
there in scrimmages in the last couple of months, but other than that Academy news has pretty much
gone dark. When the teams last took the field in an official capacity - in late February - both had
a commanding lead in their respective Northwest Divisions, but to some degree that was a quirk of
the scheduling.
I know I've already discussed how much I like this kid, but damn.
Borini, who turns 20 today, scored a brace on his debut for Swansea City over the weekend to
help give them a 3-2 win over Notts Forest after former Chelsea and youth product Scott Sinclair
had already scored a fantastic first goal.
News just surfaced that we've entered into an agreement over the signing of Lucas Piazon from
Sao Paulo. Link (albeit in Portuguese) after the jump:
Fresh recruits.
I haven't necessarily tracked this kid, nor do I know much about his progress over the years.
For those that are bilingual, have a go at the official article from the Sao Paulo website
here.
That Billy Clifford. He can play.
So, too, can Josh McEachran. But you already knew that. Nathaniel Chalobah, he's the monster
Chelsea are obviously trying to keep under wraps. On recent displays, the world will soon know of
the native of Sierra Leone.
They're not alone.
The next match of the FA Youth Cup for our U18 side is rapidly approaching, as the date for the
fifth round has finally been announced!
The youth boys will take on Barnsley on Friday, February 11th at Stamford Bridge at 7pm GMT
here's hoping for another turnout of 7,000 fans!
The Cup defense is still alive. Two goals from Milan Lalkovic, his last in the final minute of
regular time, helped holders Chelsea erase a halftime deficit and progress into the fifth round of
the FA Youth Cup.
We heart you, too
Our Under-18s put on a show and deserved to advance.
